Question

An adolescent is examined in the hospital emergency department after taking an overdose of acetylsalicylic acid. The adolescent has rapid breathing, nausea and vomiting, and lethargy. The health care provider prescribes arterial blood specimens for blood gas analysis to be drawn. Aspirin toxicity is suspected when the blood gas results are reported as which value?

a. pH 7.29, Pco2 29 mm Hg, HCO3 19 mEq/L (19 mmol/L)
b. pH 7.45, Pco2 40 mm Hg, HCO3 24 mEq/L (24 mmol/L)
c. pH 7.35, Pco2 45 mm Hg, HCO3 30 mEq/L (30 mmol/L)
d. pH 7.50, Pco2 35 mm Hg, HCO3 22 mEq/L (22 mmol/L)

Answer 1

The blood gas analysis result that indicates aspirin toxcity is a pH value of 7.29 and a bicarbonate level of 19 mEq/L.

Step-by-step explanation:

The suspected condition in this case is aspirin toxicity. One of the consequences of aspirin overdose is metabolic acidosis, which is characterized by a low pH value. Among the options given, the value that indicates acidosis is option a. It has a pH of 7.29, which is below the normal range of 7.35-7.45. In addition, the bicarbonate (HCO3) level of 19 mEq/L is lower than the normal range of 22-29 mM.